Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2011

Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2011 Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2011 Sustainability Contents Message from the Chairman 2 Managing Director’s welcome 2 Year in review 4 Wesfarmers response to Queensland floods 8 Sustainability scorecard 10 Reconciliation Action Plan 26 Coles 28 Home Improvement and Office Supplies 34 Target 44 Kmart 48 Insurance 52 Resources 56 Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers 60 Industrial and Safety 64 About this report 68 Independent Assurance Statement 70 Glossary 72 Group structure and feedback form 73 ABOUT WESFARMERS Strength through diversity. From its origins in 1914 as a Western Australian farmers’ cooperative, Wesfarmers has grown into one of Australia’s largest listed companies. Headquartered in Western Australia, its diverse business operations cover: supermarkets; department stores; home improvement and office supplies; coal mining; insurance; chemicals, energy and fertilisers; and industrial and safety products. Wesfarmers is one of Australia’s largest employers and has a shareholder base of approximately 500,000. Our objective Wesfarmers remains committed to providing a satisfactory return to shareholders. Proud history, strong future Steeped in a foundation of distribution and retailing since its formation, today Wesfarmers is one of Australia’s leading retailers and diversified industrial companies. Stock exchange listing Wesfarmers is a company limited by shares that is incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing codes: – Wesfarmers (WES) – Wesfarmers Partially Protected Shares (WESN) Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowships In July 2010, the National Gallery of Australia and Wesfarmers launched Australia’s first visual arts management fellowship for indigenous Australians. Attracting a national pool of applicants, the program provides 12 short-term scholarships every year, and two senior Fellowships worth $50,000 each, enabling recipients to work with the mentorship and the collections of the National Gallery for up to two years on a project of their choice. Cover: Emma Loban with Ron Bradfield Jnr From left: Sharyn Egan (WA); Jirra Harvey (Vic); Franchesca Cubillo, Senior Curator Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, National Gallery of Australia; Kimberley Moulton (Vic); Emma Loban (Torres Strait Islands); Gabriel Nodea (WA); Glenn Iseger-Pilkington (WA); Ron Bradfield Jr (WA); Alison Furber (NT); Nadeena Dixon (NSW); Tahjee Moar (NSW); Freja Carmichael (Qld); and Renee Johnson (SA). WESFARMERS LIMITED ABN 28 008 984 049 WESFARMERS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2011 Committed to sustainability. Wesfarmers is focused on improving its social, environmental and economic performance for the benefit of all its stakeholders. WESFARMERS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2011 1 Message Managing Director’s from the welcome Chairman With operations that are far-reaching and complex, keeping focused on our economic, environmental and social performance is critical to delivering on our objective of providing value to all our stakeholders. The scope and diversity I’m very pleased to welcome you to the Fundamental to our success – and of the Wesfarmers Group 2011 Wesfarmers Sustainability Report. therefore our value – are the people within our business. As Australia’s largest private confers on us an enormous As I reflect on the past year and the sector employer, we invest millions of challenges and opportunities in our responsibility, not only to dollars not only in wages, but training businesses, it reminds me once again our shareholders, but also and development too. However, it is the about the true value of sustainability. safety of our people which is – and must to our 200,000 employees, With operations that are far-reaching be – our most important focus. Tragically, our wider customer base, and complex, keeping focused on our in August last year a contract worker at and the communities and economic, environmental and social one of our mines was fatally injured in a performance is critical to delivering on families across Australia, single vehicle accident. In the most awful our objective of providing value to all New Zealand and Asia of circumstances we are reminded about our stakeholders. where the company operates. the importance of safety. As an organisation, Importantly, sustainability within the providing a safe work environment is both Wesfarmers Group isn’t simply an ‘add-on’. Safety must be fundamental our responsibility and our obligation – Stakeholder expectations have evolved everybody has the right to return home to every aspect of our diverse well beyond purely the financial success safely each day. While all of our businesses businesses, and that’s a of an organisation, but Wesfarmers has prioritise and focus on safety, we can and message we must never long recognised the value and opportunity must do better. of a holistic approach to managing our stop communicating. Climate change remains at the forefront operations. For us, sustainability isn’t just of public debate and in July this year a public relations exercise while the ‘real’ the Federal Government announced its business goes on regardless. As you will Clean Energy Legislative Package. We see in this report – and indeed in all earlier have continued to work cooperatively and such reports – the detail of investing in and collaboratively with government and have improving our operations all contributes to Bob Every Chairman contributed where relevant to the debate. the sustainability of our business as a whole. Indeed, Wesfarmers has long held the This is the fourteenth year we have view that climate change is one of the published such a report and our businesses most significant issues facing not only our are all doing some terrific things to initiate business, but our community as well. While positive change within their operations. I think it is important to contribute to the But there is progress to be made in many broader policy debate on the issue, we areas as well, and we remain committed to must also continue to focus on what our reporting our sustainability outcomes in a businesses can do to minimise their carbon frank and transparent way. As a Group, we footprint. All of our businesses are taking are developing a sustainability policy which steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will formalise what has been our long-held and improve energy efficiency. Coles, in view about running our businesses. The particular, has made significant inroads into policy encapsulates five key principles improving the energy efficiency of its stores, around which we prioritise our sustainability and our industrial businesses are looking for efforts: people; carbon and energy; opportunities to reduce their emissions with community partnerships; environmental direct abatements where feasible. Climate footprint; and economic development. You change certainly presents challenges for will see that each of our businesses report our business but we must also look to specifically on these areas, and we collate embrace the opportunities to innovate this data for reporting at a Group-wide level. for improvement. 2 WESFARMERS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2011 Fundamental to our success – and therefore our value – are the people within our business. Richard Goyder with works from the Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art by artists from Maningrida, Arnhem Land in the Northern territory. At the time, in recognition of the scale of the disaster, Wesfarmers donated $5 million to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. We have a strong involvement with the people of Queensland – employing nearly 40,000 people there – many of whom were affected either directly or indirectly by this disaster. New Zealand also experienced disaster on a huge scale, with earthquakes in Christchurch devastating that city. Once again, watching from afar we felt for the people of Christchurch especially, and made a NZ$1 million contribution to provide assistance to the many people affected. In both these events, the actions of our team members in providing assistance to those in need were remarkable. Both were devastating events, but the aftermath demonstrated the resilience and generosity of the Australian and New Zealand people. Once again, I’d like to extend my thanks to all our employees for their efforts over the past year, many of which have been captured in some way in this report. As One of the areas I feel passionately about We continued to participate in the Jawun always, we’d love to hear from any of our for our business is our relationship and Indigenous Corporate Partnerships stakeholders, and we have included a form involvement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait program, with a number of employees on the inside back cover for this purpose. Islanders. In November 2009, we launched involved in the secondment program from our first Reconciliation Action Plan, and across the Group. We have also broadened pleasingly, we continue to take small but our community partnerships program significant steps towards reaching our goals. and now have a number of significant Each of our businesses has developed an partnerships with Aboriginal organisations Aboriginal strategy focusing on providing across Australia. employment initiatives, along with raising Notwithstanding all of the above, however, Richard Goyder Managing Director cultural awareness in respect to Aboriginal two other events unfolded over the past year people. In November 2010, we launched which helps to put our business operations the Wesfarmers Arts National

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